TOP-5 quality power supplies with 80+ Gold certification and above

As a rule, Gold + certified power supplies are expensive and for most computer owners seem like a luxury like membership in a country golf club. This makes the Chieftec Core look even cooler, offering a potential buyer an almost record-breaking combination of power (600 W), efficiency (85% efficiency) and acoustic comfort for its $60. Only on the approach to full power will the fan be heard quite clearly, and it can be called annoying only at maximum speed.

At the same time, it provides quite decent voltage stability, the minimum level of their ripples and supports operation with a wide range of input voltages. I especially liked that during the tests we did not record a single voltage drop below the nominal value. Add here a complete set of connections, low noise level (if it does not have to work hard), a full-fledged protective complex against overloads, power surges, etc., and you get one of the most balanced Gold + power supplies on the market.

Another question is that he had to save on something, and he can’t compete with top models from Sea Sonic and Thermaltake. The main disadvantage of the Chieftec Core can be considered the manufacturer's savings on the capacitors used, which affects the heating of the model and raises questions about its durability. Also, the design of the cable system here is as simple as in the most common and affordable power supplies. But models that are not burdened with such problems will cost much more.

In 2015, Corsair launched two new series to replace the RM series: RMx and RMi. Of the main differences, the representatives of the latter have a Corsair Link system and a fluid dynamic bearing fan, while the models from the RMx series have a screw-threaded sleeve bearing fan, which has a shorter service life. For this money, I would like a fan on a hydrodynamic bearing, but we have what we have. We hope that its durability does not let us down. But the capacitors in both series are declared exclusively Japanese.

The youngest model in the RMx line according to the passport has a power reserve of 550 W and boasts an impressive efficiency of 92%. In fact, it turns out even better, since at a rated power of 550 W it coped with overloads reaching a value of 645 W without any problems, while ensuring minimal output voltage deviations. I especially liked the state of the 12-volt line: no drawdowns, regardless of power consumption, and the ripple level is 2-3 times lower than normal. Add to this the high load capacity of the +12V channel and the presence of all types of protection, and we get an excellent basis for creating a productive gaming system with one or two video cards and with the possibility of further overclocking.

Of the additional goodies, we highlight a modular structure, a hybrid cooling system (normal and silent mode) and an unusual Corsair Link hardware and software system that allows you to monitor the state of the power supply in detail. For it, you just need to connect the power supply to the PC using a USB cable and install proprietary software, after which you will have access to all the additional functionality of the device.

The Chieftec PowerPlay Gold is a pretty fancy modular power supply from Chieftec, designed for powerful and not cheap gaming computers. It attracts interest with several unusual features.

Firstly, it contains Japanese capacitors Nichicon and Nippon Chemicon, which made it possible to reduce current ripple, implement protection mechanisms (there is protection against overvoltage, overcurrent and short circuit) and raise the efficiency of the model to an impressive 87% (certified 80+ Gold). Also on the PSU case there is a separate button for switching cooling modes. In one mode, the speed of the cooling fan will depend on the load, in the second, the cooler will switch to a semi-passive mode. If the load is below 30%, then the fan will not turn on, prolonging the life of the bearing and making the PSU completely silent.

The power of the main +12 volt line, from which the processor and video cards are powered, in the PowerPlay Gold GPU-650FC is 550 W, that is, 100 percent of the declared total power. Another 55 W each with a current of 20 A is supplied through the +3.3 and +5 V lines (up to a total of 110 W), which serve to power the motherboard, drives and fans. In general, you can’t dig here, Chieftec turned out to be not the cheapest power supply, but it works out every penny.

In addition, I would like to praise the cable management. The cables here are removable (modular design) and very long. Even the ever-short 4 + 4-pin processor power cable turned out to be 70 cm against the standard 55 cm. Well, a set of power connectors allows you to easily connect everything you need (2 for a video card, 6 SATA, 3 Molex), there is even a Floppy connector , which is still needed, for example, to power some sound cards. A big plus is that all the wires are made in the form of a thin flat “noodle”, which is easier to twist or hide in the wire compartments of the housing.

Most buyers associate Gigabyte products with the market of video cards and motherboards. However, in recent years, the company has begun to actively spud the gaming market, releasing monitors, mice, headphones and power supplies. Its new power supply, as its name suggests, is the epitome of value - it's one of the most affordable models with an 80+ Gold certification (90% efficiency), a massive 750W of power headroom, and a modular structure(meaning all cables will detach) . Let's figure out if they managed to immediately make a folk power supply.

Let's start with the most important thing: Gigabyte Value Modular demonstrates very good test results, ensuring the correct operation of all output lines with a total load of 980 watts. That is, the power increase is + 31% to the nominal 750 watts. In this case, is it any wonder that a powerful gaming system with an overclocked processor and two 250-watt video cards could not cause voltage fluctuations on the main lines exceeding 2.1% with an allowable ±5%?

Among other advantages of the model, we highlight the presence of all basic types of protection (OVP, OPP, SCP), a quiet cooling system with a double ball bearing cooler, and a semi-modular design that will allow you to avoid a mess of wires when assembling the system. Moreover, a system based on this power supply can be built quite powerful: overclocked AMD Ryzen 7 Pinnacle Ridge 2700X BOX Price from 5 354 up to 7 552 ₴ with a couple of video cards in CrossFire/SLI mode, it starts up without problems. Taking this into account, one can only complain about the rather high temperature of the main converter at a long maximum load. Perhaps the engineers should have chosen a more efficient fan, but in this case, sound comfort would have suffered.

For decades, Seasonic has been a major innovator in the computer power supply market. She owns such know-how of her time as automatic control of the PSU fan speed depending on temperature, Active PFC power correction and 80 PLUS Gold energy efficiency certification. Seasonic does not slow down even now. The latest Focus Plus line continues the tradition of Seasonic's "golden" power supplies built on its own OEM platforms, offering flagship modular models with 80 Plus Gold certification, high-quality components and a number of interesting technical features.

And so, Sea Sonic Focus Plus Gold is a fully modular (all wires are detachable, including motherboard and processor power) 550 W power supply with an 80+ Gold certificate (90% efficiency). Inside the Sea Sonic Focus Plus Gold is its own design circuitry, exclusively Japanese high-temperature capacitors and several large heatsinks at once on the hottest circuits (whereas other power supplies have only one or two small heatsinks). Thanks to high-quality circuitry, this model easily copes with maximum consumption and can work with a noticeable "overload".

The fact is that the cooling system fan is based on the innovative FDB hydrodynamic bearing, which is also used in the older models from Seasonic. It works almost silently even under the maximum load on the PSU, and at a load of less than 30% it may not rotate at all. The company is so confident in the quality that they give 100,000 hours of bearing assembly life and a 10-year warranty on the power supply itself. Compare this to the standard 12 to 24 months given by most competitors. Considering all this, calling this model an expensive one does not turn your tongue, every penny spent here is as justified as possible.